The very good....and the very bad...a mixed post

Good evening treasured friends.

Once again, it has been a busy couple weeks, and I find myself too scattered about to have time to make a post.  As you can tell from my title, there has been lots of good happening here...but also some bad.  I like to keep my blog cheerful and fun...a place people want to visit...a place they know will make them smile, so I hesitate to share any negative things with you, but please bear with me later in the post as I share our latest trials.

First off, I will start with the good.....our oldest son, his wife and little baby Allison have come to live with us! We spent all of last Saturday packing up our 4 vehicles with some of their belongings and moving them to our home.   Scott starts his new teaching job at the end of the month, so they wanted to get settled somewhat before work gets busy.  Their little home is on the market, and we are praying hard that it will sell soon, so that they can begin the process of clearing the land we will deed over to them, and begin the building of their new home.   I've had to rearrange and such to make room for them and their belongings, but luckily we are blessed with a big home, so we all have our own 'space'.  We're excited to be sharing this time with them, and pray that things will progress for them so that their dreams may come true soon.

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Another good thing that happened was that I finally received my swap package from Sandi of The Primitive Skate.  Our swap goodies were due at the end of June, but Sandi was so swamped with things, and we were headed on vacation, that we agreed to give her a little extra time to catch up.  Once we returned from our vacation, Sandi sent along the most wonderful package of goodies!  She was so generous, despite all the trials and pressures she has been under.  

Look what Sandi sent me.

An adorable black cat - I stuck him in an old butter crock with some greens.  Not sure if he will be staying there, but he certainly looked comfy.  I love the OLD GLORY pocket Sandi made too.  You'll also see she painted up an old 45 record with a chicken and Farm Fresh Eggs!  Sandi's so creative!  She sent me some yummy smelling tarts too.

Close up of my kitty!

Sandi also included a Fresh Eggs wooden sign, and chicken towel, a prim note pad and pencil...and yes...there is still more!  She made me an adorable crow mounted on a heavy metal stake and a timer candle in a wire candle holder!  

 

Sandi certainly spoiled me rotten.

I LOVE everything Sandi!  Thank you so much.  You made this package so personal and I'm just thrilled!

If you want to see what I sent Sandi...click HERE to go to her blog post.

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Now, for the bad.  Mr. Whimzie headed to work on Thursday morning as usual.  He needed to get there early, he said, because he had a teleconference scheduled.  He arrived at work and was promptly called into his boss's office, where he received the word that his job was being eliminated!  After 22 years, lots of travel and hard work...he became a victim of the latest round of layoffs being done by a company that no longer seems to care about the people who work for it.  Needless to say...he was SHOCKED and DEVASTATED....even now....3 days later, we are still trying to make sense of this all.   Like everyone, we have a mortgage to pay on this wonderful old place we bought 2 years ago, and other bills as well.  He'll be getting a severance package from the company, but of course, that is not a job!  I know so many people go through these times....we aren't the first....but it is still shocking and not easy to deal with.  He's a senior engineer with years and years of experience and expertise...we can only hope he will be able to find a job nearby quickly, but in this economy, one never knows.  

We've gone through the disbelief, the tears, the uncertainty and the worry...but through it all, we try to keep the faith that God will lead him to another, better job.  The past two years have not been easy, as the company had a complete turn around in management.  My Mister used to love his job, but the last two years have been full of intensive travel, hurry up and wait deadlines and more work than the ever dwindling group could handle.  In some ways he is glad to not have the stresses that have become a part of his work, but we are, of course, concerned about the future.

Could I ask you for your prayers...prayers that we can remain positive and prayers that Chris will find employment soon.

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Well dear friends, it's nearly midnight, and this old gal is physically and emotionally worn out, so I'll wrap up this post.  May the Lord bless you and keep you...may He give you abundant blessings...and a thankfulness to HIM...from whom all blessings flow.

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Oh...don't forget to sign up for my Fall Pin Keep Swap - sign ups end on MONDAY, August 5th, so hurry and click on the link at the top, right of my blog to find out more!

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I'll leave you with a picture of a special order I recently completed.